Clinical and medico-economic benefits of remote monitoring of chronic wounds (Maxant et al. 2025)

Remote monitoring of chronic wounds reduces healing time by 35 days, decreases hospital consultations by 55%, and generates an estimated saving of €1,666 per patient, without compromising care safety.

Publication

Study published in the International Wound Journal (March 2025, Vol. 22, No. 3, e70140 — DOI: 10.1111/iwj.70140). Access on PubMed.

Introduction

Through a prospective comparative intention-to-treat study, the authors assessed the impact of remote monitoring of chronic wounds on patient safety and on healthcare system resource consumption.

From January to June 2023, 103 consecutive patients were managed under two follow-up modalities:

• CF group (conventional follow-up): 61 patients
• RM group (follow-up including remote wound monitoring): 42 patients

Data were collected prospectively. Statistical analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis and covered four dimensions: treatment safety (mortality, major amputation, wound healing, use of emergency services), clinical outcomes (wound closure and time to closure), organizational effectiveness (consultations, hospitalizations, unscheduled care), and estimated cost of care.

Results

Remote monitoring of chronic wounds did not alter safety criteria in patient management. The main findings are:

• 35-day reduction in time to wound closure (p = 0.05)
• 55% reduction in hospital consultations (p ≤ 0.01)
• Estimated saving of €1,666 per patient on care costs
• Reduction in unscheduled care (emergency visits, emergency hospitalizations) observed but not statistically significant

Remote monitoring of chronic wounds is therefore a safe and clinically effective approach, reducing healing time compared to conventional follow-up. By decreasing the need for in-hospital consultations and the overall cost of treatment, it facilitates access to specialized wound healing care.

Keywords

Chronic wound, diabetic foot ulcer, leg ulcer, pressure ulcer, telemedicine